Return to Monkey Island

A brief history

Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game series originally released in 1990 (before I was even born). Over the next decade, it went on to have 3 sequels until 2000. There was a 10-year break before the 5th game arrived in 2009. Finally, another 13 years later, in September 2022, the 6th installment of the series under the title “Return to Monkey Island” was released. At this point in time, I have just finished playing what I imagine will be the final game of the series.

When I was a kid (8-10 years old) my parents randomly decided to buy “The Curse of Monkey Island” from Walmart. For months we would sit down at the computer after dinner and play this game about a wanna-be pirate. I looooved it, not only did I bond with my family through it, but the adventure was amazing! It made me much more interested in games as a form of storytelling. But, for some reason, even after all these years, I still think about this game alllll the time.

And I’d like to understand why.

“I wanna be a pirate”

Guybrush Threepwood, the main protagonist, is clumsy, nerdy, goofy, altogether imperfect, but he isn’t stupid. Ultimately he is everything that a pirate is not. Encounters throughout the game typically involve him being laughed off, for his dream to become one. Yet he continues to doggedly push forward towards his goal. He comes up with ingenious solutions to problems that eventually lead to him sorta kinda becoming a pirate, whatever that actually means.

What does being a pirate actually mean? I mean, when do you become one? There’s no pirate university to give you a credential once you’re ready (ironically this idea comes up in the series). But it makes me think about when I became a software engineer. Like, at what point did the change occur? Was it when I graduated? When I got my first job? Does it even matter? Am I also a Guitar player since I can play a song or two?

In any case, I think most people who love these games would say they love Guybrush. But the answer to why isn’t entirely clear to me. I mean, he does give off a sort of underdog vibe which, of course, is endearing. But I do think it's more than that. He, like many of us, is driven by goals.

Become a pirate
Save the beautiful Elaine
Defeat LeChuck
Discover The Secret of Monkey Island
Find The Treasure!

Yet his goals are elusive. Game in and game out Guybrush is continually evaded by his goals. He can’t become a pirate because the Pirate Lords have vanished. He can’t save the damsel in distress because she is well-abled to take care of herself, the evil ghost pirate LeChuck has mastered the secret of immortality, The Secret of Monkey Island doesn’t actually exist, and neither does The Treasure. Like, these are literally how the games end (SPOILERS), you never really accomplish much. They’re just things that Guybrush thinks he needs. Things that we think we need to have in order to become something that we want to be. But, after finishing The Return to Monkey Island, the truth becomes clear to Guybrush as he sits on a bench watching his wife, Elaine, and son, Boybrush, walking towards the horizon. Getting to the finish line doesn’t matter and it never fucking did! And I think his acceptance of this was always inside him as he, and us as players, adventured the Caribbean, soaking in every moment of it.

And yes, I know this sounds a lot like the cliché "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey," but it's a truth that we need constant reminders of. Otherwise, we can only identify with our achievements, achievements that are plagued by the notion of time. Achievements that fade with time, or that fail to exist because you weren’t able to get there. We are plagued by this in today’s society; I think sometimes we call it nostalgia. Nostalgia of something once had, to be had once again. Our culture is marked by an incessant need to recreate, to relive the past, in hopes of us obtaining some gratification from a happy life once had. We pump out sequels, remakes, redos, because we see them to be familiar, friendly, easy, comforting. I think these constant reminders from the past frame our way of thinking into “how can we get back there” and away from “how can we move forward”.

What playing The Return to Monkey Island (and the whole Monkey Island series) taught me, about Guybrush, myself, and my life is that: not only is it ok to fail, it's ok to say goodbye. It's okay to move on and it's okay to not look back.

Ending

I love Guybrush Threepwood and I love Monkey Island. These games and characters have meant so much to me over the years. I hope to one day play them with my kids. I’m thankful that I got to experience another adventure after so many years and appreciative to the team behind it all. The game gave me closure, as I hope it did to its creators and other fans.